Paul Plotsky, PhD

Biography

Paul M. Plotsky, PhD, is Director of the Stress Neurobiology Laboratory and is the GSK Professor of Psychiatry. His research is focused on the interaction between genes and the perinatal environment in shaping the developing nervous system. Using rodent and nonhuman primate models in collaboration with clinical researchers, he has developed animal models of vulnerability to a variety of psychiatric and medical diseases. Extensive characterization of these models ranging from behavioral assessments to gene expression and epigenetic profiling, as well as neuromorphology have revealed fundamental changes in neurocircuits underlying perception and processing of environmental stimuli as well as the responsiveness to these events. These models permit a detailed analysis of behavioral, neuroendocrine, cognitive, structural, neurochemical, and molecular changes associated with these vulnerable states and provide avenues for development of new therapeutic interventions. Dr. Plotsky holds adjunct appointments in the Dept. of Psychology and at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. He is also on the faculty of the Graduate Program in Neuroscience and the undergraduate Neurobiology and Behavior Program.